Various Electoral Forms

Why in News?

Recently, the Election Commission (EC) has just concluded the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and it proposes to roll it out in other States in a phased manner.

What is the current significance of SIR?

• Revision of electoral rolls – Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (RP Act), deals with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls.
• A summary revision is carried out before each general election or by-election in any constituency.
• Special revision – The RP Act also authorises the EC to carry out a special revision of the electoral roll at any time.
• The EC, through its order dated June 24, had decided to conduct SIR for the entire country.
• SIR in Bihar – Since the Bihar Assembly elections are due in November, the Commission issued guidelines for the SIR of the Bihar electoral roll, with July 1 as the qualifying date.
• The SIR process in Bihar involved
• Submission of enumeration forms by all registered voters,
• Submission of any eligible documents to prove citizenship (for electors registered after 2003),
• Publication of draft electoral rolls based on forms submitted,
• Period for filing claims and objections, verification and disposal of claims and objections by the Electoral Registration Officers (ERO), and publication of final roll.
• The SIR process was challenged in the Supreme Court.
• SC’s direction – In its interim orders, the court had directed the EC to accept Aadhaar as one of the eligible documents to be submitted along with the enumeration forms as proof of identity.
• The final roll for Bihar was released by the EC on September 30.
• National coverage of SIR – The Commission proposes to complete the SIR process for the entire country in a phased manner based on the Assembly election schedules for various States.

What are the various forms of electoral rolls?

• Statutory basis – These forms are provided in the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 (RER).
• In the present context, it is important for citizens to be aware of the various forms that deal with electoral rolls.

What are the conflicting arguments and should be done?

• Contrasting arguments – There are political arguments both for and against the SIR exercise as carried out in Bihar.
• Need for clean electoral rolls – Clean electoral rolls are paramount for the conduct of free and fair elections, which is essential for our functioning democracy.
• The EC would hopefully devise a more spread-out schedule in future SIRs that provides adequate time for hassle-free participation by voters.
• Inclusion of aadhar – The list of eligible documents is also likely to include Aadhaar as proof of identity, in subsequent SIRs as per the Supreme Court directive.
• Duties of citizens – Citizens should ensure that they verify the published draft rolls.
• They should fill out the enumeration forms as required.
• New voters and electors who have migrated to different constituencies should fill out the relevant forms.
• Political parties and civil society groups should assist citizens, especially the most marginalised sections, throughout the process.
• This would ensure a clean electoral roll without compromising on the right to vote of every eligible citizen.

Reference

The Hindu| Various Electoral Forms